What is it and how does it work?

Teletherapy, telemental health, video sessions and
telemedicine have now been available to many
health consumers and most people love it. Even the
extroverts, who thrive on the energy of being face
to face with people, have to admit it allows them
easy access. The Pandemic pushed us all into
trying it out.

What is telemedicine?

The overall term, telemedicine, applies to
meetings via various technologies between
medical providers and patients/clients that
replace face to face meetings in an office to
discuss a client’s problems.

You have probably heard some of the radio
commercials for online therapy. Some of these
services offer “therapy”, 24/7, via text or email
messages. Some offer a telephone call in place
of therapy face to face.

While emergency telephone sessions can be
better than none at all, it’s very important to
be actually seen. Most states ban therapy that
does not allow the therapist to actually see you.
In therapy, your facial expressions and gestures
are so important in communicating the feelings
and thoughts that words won’t fully convey.
Many unconscious thoughts and reactions
are communicated visually. Most of us would
agree that text messages are easily misinter-
preted. What is a simple and neutral statement
of fact can sound cold, if not aggressive, in a
text message.

This opportunity for inacurracy and misunder-
standings cause text and telephone to be a
too limited means of communication for times
when clients need us to see and hear them
clearly and provide our best help. That is
one of the reasons that most health insurances
do not pay for it and many states do not allow it.

While there are a few other options for online
medical services, psycotherapy via video session
is the norm now. Its distinct advantages:

• Convenient – involves no travel time
• Comfortable
• Thrifty – no parking fees, train fares &
  sometimes, no baby sitter costs.
• It allows for us to see you in your real
  environment (Seeing your spouses, kids
  & pets is very cool! (As long as they then
  give you your space.))

At the same time, if not thought through
video sessions can present some challenges,
such as:

• If you live with others (that you need to
  complain about), you might not feel that
  you have enough privacy.
• You may not have enough time between
  work and home to get somewhere
  private before you have to pick your
  kids up.
• Your issues may be around your access
  to your parents, friends, etc. and being
  unable to be in the same room with a
  therapist may trigger some of those feelings.
  
  Whether it’s in office or via video, there
  will be some arrangements needed to
  make either meeting method work.
  
  Some providers and clients have remarked
  that doing video/telehealth sessions allows
  them to focus more closely on what’s being
  said in each session. You are rushing in
  breathless after having rushed from work.
  We therapists are not obsessing over how
  we’re going to get out to pick up lunch or
  worried about our kids getting in from
  school. It’s a pretty chill vibe.

In addition, those folks that live out of
the way or far from office centers, can
easily find a provider outside of their
immediate neighborhood. (Sometimes
you need a little anonymity when you
live where everybody knows everybody
else but usually you can find someone
in your state that you can see via video)